Electro legends Depeche Mode have announced a world tour in support of their first album in four years – Spirit (which comes out March 17th).
The tour starts May 5th in Stockholm, Sweden and ends October 27th in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It includes many dates in the U.S. that will surely sell out quick, so get your tickets as soon as possible.
Keep your mind open.
I first heard the Middle Eastern / Indian influenced “electro-drone” (for want of a better term) of Jiboia at Levitation Chicago last year when some DJ’s played a song by him between sets. “Who is this?” I thought and instantly put my Shazam app to use (since that’s the thing to do nowadays).
Jiboia’s self-titled EP is a wild mix of trippy synths, frenetic beats, and pro-rock guitars. The first track, “Eingana,” is full of all those things, and Jiboia shreds quite well on it. “Manasha” starts off with 1980’s video game-style beeps and beats, but Jiboia’s soaring guitar work soon takes over the track. “Ayidda-Weddo” is like something you’d hear in a late night cab in Calcutta if the driver were also a computer hacker in his spare time. “Kungpipi” is almost a Kraftwerk track with its heavily processed beats and simple yet effective synths, but the droning bass and wild guitar work take it to a bit of a dark psychedelic place.
The standout is “Uadjit” with guest vocals from Ana Miro. Her chant-like siren song gets into your head, as do the electric near-dubstep beats. I don’t know if Ms. Miro has done other work with Jiboia, but I hope that’s the case. They’re a great duo.
This is a strange bit of psychedelic world music. You have to be in the right mood for it, but it’s perfect for when that mood strikes.
Keep your mind open.
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We’re into the top ten!
#10 
If you know me well, then you shouldn’t be surprised that a new record by Deap Vally made it into my top test list of any given year. Femejism, besides having the greatest album title of the year, is solid beginning to end with the sizzling guitar, sexy / snarling vocals, and powerhouse drumming they do so well.
#9 
The debut LP from Goggs (or is it “G0ggs?”) is the loudest, wildest punk rock record I’ve heard all year. Ty Segall, who plays guitar on the record, has quickly become one of the most prolific artists in music, and everything he puts out is worth hearing.
#8 
Of course a Radiohead record was going to be in the top 10. A Moon Shaped Pool continues the band’s metamorphosis into this generation’s Pink Floyd. It’s beautifully crafted, but a heavy listen. It might be the saddest break-up (Thom Yorke from his long-time girlfriend) record of 2016.
#7 
“Holy crap” is the way I described my reaction upon first hearing A Tribe Called Quest‘s We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service to a friend. This friend, Dee Tension, is a hip-hop producer, beat maker, and MC in Boston, and he claimed he’d been listening to it daily since its release. You might, too, upon hearing it. It’s not only a loving tribute to founding member Phife Dawg, but also a sharp critique on race, politics, gentrification, and much more.
#6 
Speaking of great returns, Underworld had another one we needed in 2016. Barbara, Barbara, We Face a Shining Future is the most uplifting and optimistic record of the year. Every song is about seeing good times ahead and remembering how every moment is divine.
We’re almost there. Who makes the top 5? Tune in tomorrow!
Keep your mind open.
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We’re halfway to #1 on the countdown!
#15 
The Kills released a great album for their 15th anniversary. Ash & Ice oozes with their sweaty, smoky, whiskey-tinged rock and is one of the best albums about love and sex from 2016.
#14 
I didn’t expect a full record of shoegaze from the Duke Spirit, but Kin is the best shoegaze record I’ve heard all year (and probably of the last two or three years).
#13
All Them Witches released a live album last year (which I still need to get), teased a new album for this year, and started 2016 with Dying Surfer Meets His Maker – a great blend of stoner metal and blues voodoo rock.
#12 
Comacozer contacted me through this website and asked if I’d like to hear their record. I’m glad I said yes, because this stoner metal album, Astra Planeta, is amazing.
#11 
The KVB make excellent dark wave and shoegaze. It’s a bit difficult to believe at first that just two people produce that much sound. Of Desire was recorded on vintage synthesizers and sequencers, and the rich sound produced is excellent.
Who’s made it into my top 10 for 2016? Come back tomorrow to find out!
Keep your mind open.
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Let’s keep rollin’ with this countdown of great live shows from 2016!
#20 – Seal at Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, MI August 27th.
It was just him, a DJ / synth player, and a guitarist, and they knocked it out of the park. He even dabbled in some dark wave versions of some of his songs and he knows how to work a crowd.
#19 – Wolfmother at the Double Door in Chicago, IL July 10th
The whole show was this crazy. It was probably the sweatiest show I attended all year as well, and completely worth it.
#18 – Jeff the Brotherhood at Middle Waves Festival in Ft. Wayne, IN September 17th
That photo, taken by yours truly, pretty much says it all. They hammered out a loud set in the post-rain sunlight that won over many new fans. They played a lot of new material that was quite good. I need to get their new album soon.
#17 – Bully at Middle Waves Festival in Ft. Wayne, IN September 16th
They closed one of the Middle Waves stages on the first night of the festival and had everyone roaring by the end of their set. They were the best act that night.
#16 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Chicago House of Blues October 13th
BRMC always puts on a good show, and this one was no exception. They played a shorter than normal set due to some equipment malfunction (I think it was a screwed-up monitor.), but they worked around it by playing songs they hadn’t planned on playing and altering some guitar parts. It was a great example of a band on top of their game and able to improvise if things get weird.
Who’s in the top 15? Check back tomorrow to see!
Keep your mind open.
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Don’t let anyone tell you that there’s no good music anymore. There is always good music. You just have to find it. I hope this list and this blog helped you discover some good stuff in 2016.
I reviewed close to 50 albums released in 2016 last year, so I’ve decided to highlight the top 25. Here are numbers 25-21.
25.
Slaves bring great British punk that skewers not only the elite rich, but also Millennial slackers and even the stupidity of drunk driving.
24.
Dunsmuir is a metal supergroup featuring members of Clutch, Fu Manchu, The Company Band, and Black Sabbath. Their debut is a concept record about a shipwrecked crew fighting monsters on a remote island.
23.
Canadian psych-rockers Elephant Stone have yet to put out a bad record, and this one added electro touches to their mix of 1960’s psychedelia and bhangra.
22. 
Birth is a fine piece of stoner rock from this three-piece Australian outfit. I was on a big stoner rock kick in 2016 and ORB certainly fit the bill.
21. 
Klaus Johann Grobe were a delightful discovery this year, and their latest album, Spagat Der Liebe, is a fun electro / lounge record suitable for both late night parties and making out.
Who cracks the top 20? Come back tomorrow to find out!
Keep your mind open.
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Night Club’s (Mark Brooks and Emily Kavanaugh) Requiem for Romance starts, appropriately, with “Requiem,” a song of dark synths that would be right at home in a John Carpenter film, and then launches forward with “Bad Girl” – a fetish club dance anthem for dominatrixes, riot grrls, and women who don’t care if you don’t like what they wear. “It’s so good to be a bad girl,” Kavanaugh sings over booming synths and electric beats, oozing sex with a hint of danger.
“Show It 2 Me” pretty much lets you know its subject with the title. You’ll probably hear this in a club scene featured in the next big budget vampire film you see. “If you like the fast lane, don’t be slow,” Kavanaugh sings. “‘Cause I’m giving you the green light to go. If you got something you want to show, show it to me.” Ahem.
The warped synths of “Dear Enemy” build to a wicked beat as Kavanaugh sings about a former friend who has finally crossed the line. “You know you’re a super creep, ‘cause the things you do won’t let you sleep,” she sings as Brooks puts down a groove Gary Numan would love.
The synths get bouncy and bright on “Psychosuperlover,” although Kavanaugh’s lyrics are still heavy: “You are the blackest hole, heart as dead as your soul. Did it burn inside when you left me here to die?” Brooks and Kavanaugh pull off the deceptive nature of the song’s subject – attractive on the outside, a monster within.
In case you missed the kinky vibe of this record, “Freak Like Me” will drive it home for you. The wicked groove and the chorus of “You know you want to be a freak like me.” make the song pretty much a required addition to any “freaky sex”-themed playlists you’re planning to make soon. “Magnetic” has Kavanaugh missing her lover and hoping for a fast return. Brooks’ synths are at times heavy and others bright on it and also on “Dangerous Heart,” which reminds me of tracks by The Knife and has Kavanaugh warning a potential lover of her wicked nature.
She shares the vocals with Brooks on “Pray,” a solid electro cut that would make Metric envious. The album ends with, of all things, a torch song. “Little Token” is a song of heartbreak and loss with minimal synths, subtle bass, and haunting piano behind Kavanaugh’s slightly echoed vocals. It’s a nice send-off and shows us that Night Club can do more than kinky electro.
The album is full of songs that reflect the title. Some of them are empowerment anthems and others are dire warnings. All are solid.
Keep your mind open.
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Do you need a score for next horror film? Looking for something to play in the cassette deck of your armored spike-covered car in a post-apocalyptic world? Need something to play through your earbuds while you search an alien hive or track down a masked killer? If so, Survive’s RR7349 is the album for you.
The band includes two of the men responsible for the Stranger Things score, so you can be sure this album of instrumental electro is full of 1980’s film score touches, John Carpenter influences, and love for Gary Numan.
“A.H.B.” opens the record, and is full of warped, weird synths that swirl like fog around your speakers. “Other” is ideal if you find yourself momentarily trapped in a summoning chamber built by an evil cult about to unleash some hellish thing on the world. It clanks, oozes, and slithers with deep, almost silent bass, and heavily synthesized vocals. “Dirt” has John Carpenter’s fingerprints all over it, as it sounds like a lost cut from the Prince of Darkness score.
“Wardenclyffe” might as well be the name of some Lovecraftian asylum, because it’s wonderfully creepy. Heavy bass synths and strange choral effects abound before manic keyboards take center stage. “Sorcerer” is the opening credits music of that cool time travel / medieval adventure VHS movie you watched in high school but have never been able to find since then. “Low Fog” is almost like a monastic chant. The thudding bass of “Copter” gives the song a sense of menace, and the taut synths almost wail at some points. I’m sure some film producer has bought the rights to “Cutthroat” by now, because it’s perfect for a 1980’s retro-style horror movie. You can’t miss the Halloween score influence.
This is a weird, creepy, and atmospheric record. Play it at your next cocktail party and feel how the room changes.
Keep your mind open.
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I don’t remember where I first heard The KVB (Kat Day and Nicholas Wood). It was probably BBC 6 Music, but I remember immediately thinking, “Who is that?” within a few moments. Their blend of electro, shoegaze, and John Carpenter film score riffs grabs your attention right away, and their newest album, Of Desire, is a great introduction to them if you’ve never heard them before now.
“White Walls” starts with 1980’s no wave synths and somewhat distant vocals about Nicholas Wood letting a lover leave while he stays inside to do some self-imposed penance for saying some things he regrets. The synths soar and click in beautiful waves. I don’t know what will get you to like this band if this opening track doesn’t.
Peter Hook-like bass creeps throughout “Night Games.” It sounds like something Snake Plissken would be playing in his glider flight in Escape from New York. “Lower Depths” is a goth gem, both lyrically (“Don’t want the light. I see the inside. I’m lost in a hole. My head’s on fire.”) and musically with its industrial guitars, programmed simple snare beats, and synth drones. “Silent Wave” reminds me of the Knight Rider theme at first, but it’s Knight Rider with KITT being a hearse instead of a Trans Am and the hero being a 1980’s goth computer hacker instead of a guy who’s a pop star in Germany.
“Primer” is an instrumental appetizer for the lush “Never Enough.” It’s almost the opposite of “White Walls” (but the deep synths and shoegaze guitars remain the same), as Wood has now flipped the table on his lover who has ruined everything. “And it’s all too much, because it’s never enough. And it’s all your fault as it slips away,” he sings.
I’m pretty sure “In Deep” is about a ghost waiting for its lover to die so they can be together again (“Being here, not living, I see it brings you down. And I’m trying hard to help you, but I feel I’ve come too late.”). The synths are bright like the afterlife, but the electro-bass is rooted to the Earth. “Awake” brings back the John Carpenter soundtrack feel, and it’s a great song for dark nights, dark car rides, or dark rooms. “V11393” is a cool instrumental that has probably been remixed across industrial clubs across the world by now.
“Unknown,” a song that has Wood wondering about the future as he lies in bed with his lover, has some of the loudest guitar on the record, but it knows when to move out of the way and let the synth bass take the forefront. Another good instrumental, “Mirrors,” leads into “Second Encounter,” with floating synths and clear guitar that makes you wonder if the song is about a relationship coming to an end, death, heroin, depression, or all of the above.
Of Desire is aptly named because every song on the record is about lust, love, loss, or regret. It’s a gorgeous record and actually inspired me to buy DJ gear and begin making electronic music again. Let it inspire you.
Keep your mind open.
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